The legacy of most talented authors is great, but only a few works are known to millions and are strongly associated with the name of a poet or prose writer. Poems, stories and novels are tested by time, and only the most beautiful of them remain in history.
Best poems
Poetry is the eternal companion of human culture. There is something magical and fascinating in poetic speech: it is musical, laconic, accurate and metaphorical. And yet, when we talk about beauty, we mean not only melody and exquisite imagery. We also mean deep spirituality, sincerity of feelings, accuracy of thought. And a poem will be truly beautiful only when the sharpness of form emphasizes the depth of content. Then masterpieces are born that readers of different generations will admire.
Thus were born the most famous poems of Lermontov. You cannot learn this. You can study techniques, the theory of metaphor as much as you like, you can be a skilled speaker, but you cannot become a brilliant poet if it is not laid down by nature and God.
“In the north is wild ...” The most popular translation
M. Yu. Lermontov, undoubtedly, was born a poet. In his best works there is always that “little bit” that distinguishes a skillful poem from a genius. Let’s try to see this by analyzing the best poems of Lermontov.
"In the wild north ..." is better known under the popular name "Pine." For Russian readers, Lermontov’s most famous poems are familiar from school, among them this work. It is a free translation of a masterpiece by G. Heine. It must be said that Lermontov was neither the first nor the last poet to address this work of German poetry. Heine was translated by Tyutchev, Fet, Z. Gippius and many others. L. V. Shcherba showed that by the end of the 19th century there were at least 39 Russian versions, and by no means all were published, in reality there were probably more of them. And yet no other text has become so significant for Russian culture. Why are Lermontov’s poems so captivating? The most beautiful of them, like this one, contain many mysteries.
Oddities of Lermontov translation
This may seem strange, but Lermontov’s best poems contain errors. The deliberate inaccuracies that were made by the poet bribe him, as a result of which the text ceased to be a translation, and became an independent - and surprisingly Lermontov's - masterpiece. The main thing is that in the original Heine the fir (or spruce) is not named Fichte (the word feminine), but Fichtenbaum (the word masculine). This is similar to how in many Russian dialects there is a “cedar” and “cedar”. Therefore, it turns out that a certain "he" dreams that somewhere there is a beautiful "she". Before us is love lyrics. Heine is usually translated this way using the words “cedar” (Tyutchev) or even “oak” (Fet). Using the words "pine" and "palm", Lermontov radically changes the meaning of the poem. This is no longer love lyrics, but a philosophical parable, longing for a ghostly mirage. Hence the mesmerizing tale of the northern dream: the pine tree “slumbers, swinging,” it is covered with snow, like a robe, and so on. Heine’s picture is more definite and sharper. Lermontov creates a poem, a tale of human loneliness: the lines are surprisingly deep, soulful, beautiful. Lermontov’s poems seem very Russian, despite their foreign origin.
Accordingly, the rhythm of the poem is changing. Heine is talking about an impregnable beauty, therefore, the sound of the verse is more harsh, biting. Lermontov, creating his own painful tale, uses completely different rhythms. The alternation of the four-foot and three-foot amphibrachs makes the work melodious, smooth. As a result, a completely new poem is born - subtle, deep and beautiful.
The famous "Sail"
Probably, any person in Russia, when asked to name Lermontov’s most famous poems, will remember the words “A lone sail turns white ...”. They became truly cult: this is a famous song, and the name of the story by V. Kataev, and constant mention in poems of other poets. Even the ironic song of Ostap Bender from a popular movie refers to this poem: "My sail is whitening, so alone in the background of large ships." And everyone will immediately remember Lermontov. And, perhaps, only specialists know that this is not a Lermontian line. This is a line from a once popular poem, more precisely, a fragment of an unfinished poem by A. A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. But she took root precisely in Lermontov’s masterpiece. “Sail” has become an integral part of Russian culture. But this is a youthful poem - the poet at the time of writing was only seventeen years old. Indeed, genius cannot be learned. The poem is piercing, musical (not without reason it became a song) and at the same time not youthfully deep.
The riddle of simplicity
At first glance, “Sail” is a simple and easily understood poem. The sail itself is perceived as a metaphor for the seeker, the restless person who is bored during periods of "calm" and who "asks for the storm." In general, a youthful romantic poem, almost a declaration. But if that were so, Sail would not remain a masterpiece of Russian poetry. The fact of the matter is that Lermontov’s most famous poems also imply a second plan, which is not always easy to explain, but which the reader accurately feels. And it is this second plan that gives Lermontov’s text piercing depth, it is he who makes the poem truly beautiful, voluminous. It is worth looking at the words - and all simplicity disappears, like a ghost.
"The structure of beauty"
Each stanza of the poem is built according to the scheme “picture - commentary”. “Pictures” change in a circle “calm - storm - calm”. But the comments are developed according to a completely different logic. First the question is asked, then we hear a bitter rhetorical exclamation, and in the end ... It would seem that there should be an answer. But there is no answer. The sail "asks for the storm", but the storm was already there. And there was no peace either. There is “as if” peace, but not peace in fact. And we understand that the searches of the lyrical hero are doomed, there is no peace anywhere, this is an illusion. And at the same time - this is the paradox of not only “Sails”, but of all Lermontov’s work - the search for a hero is not meaningless, a person is doomed to the eternal pursuit of something unattainable. And he is only insofar as a man, because he retains within himself this “spirit of search." This is tragedy and the high meaning of human existence.
From this article you learned what Lermontov’s poems are the most beautiful and why readers see and feel their charm. The fact is that Lermontov’s ideas are consonant with a lot, and the words, melodics, metaphors shown in verses to a visible level, they are perceived by us in a special way.